Decline in the world's confidence in the U.S. is dramatic and widespread

Confidence in U.S. had gone down in 35 of the 37 countries surveyed. The two exceptions were Russia and Israel.

A few weeks ago, I confessed that I have become totally hooked on the weekly New York Times column of Thomas Edsall. His most recent from last Thursday was brilliant but unutterably depressing.

Edsall reviewed a Pew Research Center survey, taken in 37 countries in June, asking whether people had confidence in President Donald Trump to do the right thing in international affairs.

By smooshing the responses from all countries together the overall verdict is, by 74 to 22 percent, ordinary people around the world lack confidence in Trump. Is that because they don’t trust America in general or any of its leaders? I could imagine that, but apparently not. When the same poll question was asked during Barack Obama's presidency, foreigners had confidence in the United States to do the right thing by 64 to 23 percent.

How widespread is this decline global confidence in America since Trump became president?

Very.

Confidence down in 35 of 37 nations surveyed

When you break those responses down by country, confidence in U.S. had gone down in 35 of the 37 countries surveyed. The two exceptions were Russia and Israel. In Israel, the change was relatively small. The last time Pew asked the question there under Obama, 49 percent said they had confidence U.S. policy. The first time they asked it after Trump took office, that rose to 56.

In the Russia the change was much more dramatic. Only 11 percent of Russian respondents trusted Obama, but 53 percent said they trusted Trump.

At the other end of the spectrum, confidence in American policy from the last Obama poll to the first Trump poll fell by 83 percentage points (from 93 to 10) in Sweden, which was the biggest drop in any country. After that, Germany and the Netherlands were the biggest losers of confidence in America since the change in its top leader — a drop of 75 percentage point in both. Then South Korea (drop of 71 points); France (drop of 70); Spain (68); Canada (61) the UK (57), Australia (55), Japan (54).

Pew has done similar polls for years. There have never been results anything close to this bad.

This link will enable you to see all the scores. At the low end of the spectrum (meaning countries where the decline in confidence was relatively small) were Jordan, Nigeria, Venezuela, Tunisia and Vietnam.

Sought out experts for analysis

Edsall’s column was about more than just these horrifying poll results. As he generally does, he emailed experts at analyzing issues like these and printed some of the responses. Edsall writes, for example:

“Arthur Lupia, a political scientist at the University of Michigan, emailed: ‘As America is seen as an increasingly volatile and unreliable partner, the reduced credibility that follows creates new international opportunities for people like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin — who can promise relative stability. The net result? We now have reduced leverage in many international settings.’”

Personally, I’d never seen the word “decivilizational” before, but Edsall suggests that what he called “Trump’s assault — and that of his appointees — on democratic standards and principles” might be having that effect – a decivilizational effect — on the U.S. and the world order. Edsall asked some of his experts whether, perhaps, there might be a legal remedy, perhaps from the Mueller investigation? His column concludes with some discussion of that:

"Executive authoritarianism and lawlessness can be hemmed in and checked but not fully constrained by courts, the criminal law, or the written Constitution," Jacob T. Levy wrote this week in “The Limits of Legalism,” published by the libertarian-leaning Niskanen Center:

They ultimately have to be confronted by elected officials: co-partisans willing to exercise serious restraint, or if not, an opposition voted into office who will do so instead.

At the moment, Trump’s co-partisans, House and Senate Republicans, have shown little willingness to confront him. The longer Trump stays in office, the greater the danger that he will inflict permanent damage on the institutions that must be essential tools in any serious attempt to confront him.

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About the Author:

Veteran journalist Eric Black writes Eric Black Ink for MinnPost. His latest award is from the Society of Professional Journalists, which in May 2017 announced he'd won the national Sigma Delta Chi Award for online column writing.

…in the world's confidence in the U.S. is dramatic and widespread.” And that decline is justified.

There seems little point in blaming Trump. He's being who he is — a greedy, racist, misogynist and very, very privileged child. Blame instead a Republican Party interested only in power and ideology, not serving the public (doubters need only look at who benefits the most from the cynicism displayed in the current tax legislation), and willing to prop up that intellectual and emotional child to achieve its ideological ends.

Most importantly, IMHO, blame first those who voted for the Current Occupant. Trump voters richly deserve every bit of opprobrium aimed at them, now and into the future. Then, blame those who stayed home and decided not to vote because they didn't like either candidate, or they didn't like Hillary Clinton, as if it would make no difference who was elected to the White House or to Congress. Democracy is a participatory exercise, and all too often, we get the sort of government we deserve when we're not willing to participate.

A large number of the wealthy and powerful around the world see absolutely no reason to promote democracy, transparency, equity or justice. Those are the values the enlightenment and subsequent recent governmental forms promoted as universal goods. The Republicans with the freeing guidance of Donald Trump are pushing the "rule-to-ruin" trajectory and it is unknown where we are heading. They have found a deep well of serfism among Americans that buys into the propaganda that is being told them.

This weekend I heard of the final toss-under-the-bus of the Kurds--our "valued" allies in the Iraq and Syrian wars. What more clear indication can there be that putting yourself on the line for the US is a worthless proposition ?

Mr Phelan: So you see spectacular decline in world-wide confidence that the USA will "do the right thing" is a positive development? As our allies lose confidence in the USA as a stabilizing force, and start to see us as "decivilizational," I suspect the effects will be unpleasant. THIS IS NOT WINNING

when you apologize to the world, tell them what they want to hear, take a back seat to other countries, their adoring press eats out of your hand and all a positive vibe is had in the world, the USA kow tows and they love it. World citizens we want to be.ugh.

who cares. I care about 3.3% growth in our economy, I care about better jobs for Americans, I care about school vouchers for the poor, I care about reducing burdensome regulations that stunt growth, I care about a 15% corporate tax rate but will begrudgingly like 20%. What did the world give us for loving the apologetic President Obama, Iran nuclear deal, a Russian take over in Crimea, an exploding ISIS (JV), a North Korea free to expand nuclear program and hundreds of thousands of dead Syrians. That is just the short list.
With that track record I will take other countries not liking us any day!

Nearly a year of total GOP control makes we wonder when they are going to deliver anything for you. How have they been wasting their time for you for the past year. It seems you are not getting your expectations met because all the GOP has is talking points. It is kind of like their seven year rant about the ACA and then they had absolutely nothing.

Did Russia take over Crimea? Did ISIS JV expand and kill thousands under Obama? Did we agree to the Iran nuclear deal without Americans seeing sealed documents? Did Syria fall into chaos under Obama? Was the last quarter 3.3% growth (deemed impossible by Obama economists) ? Is the current administration fighting for school vouchers? Is the corporate tax rate going to take a huge dip with the new tax reform?
Big difference between talking points and facts!

said 3% growth was not possible. Obama never had 3% growth. Reducing regulations, Tax burdens and understanding that it’s small businesses and companies that employ regular folks (not the Federal Govt) pushed the GDP over 3% under Trump. Not mention small business confidence is at a 20 year high under Trump.

If we had paid down the national debt, we would have saved $458,542,287,311.80 this year. Instead the Republican Party W/O a democratic vote chose to give at least $1 Trillion to the well to do and pay for that give away by putting it on the national debt credit card. Passing the cost to our children's, children's children's children........ (you noticed I didn't say their children)

There is only 1 reason things are up: Obama and the fed set the tracks 8 years back. 1 Data point does not make a trend, even though you want to believe that "T" is this great savior, you are wrong, All him and the Republican's are doing is robbing the future of our children and our country. One needs know nothing more than debits and credits to understand the economics Why is the Mkt.Up? Free money, because someone else is picking up the bill, it is not paying for itself +.

PS: The federal Govt. in case you haven't noticed, spends lots of $ on small business. You think Nuclear Energy came out of the private sector? What about Battery technology, electronics, medical technology, Hoover Dam, the Red River project, the Interstate System, National Defense how about roads, bridges, sewers,you think there are no federal $ in those projects? Please take a look at the federal budget and lets quit with all federal $ are wasted. IRS people don't deserve to get paid? Or we pay them to much to go against some of the best and brightest corporate Tax lawyers and accountants, better they be dumb and lose all the cases. Or are you saying we don't need an IRS and everyone will pay their fair share anyway? We know "T" always does! "NOT"

Obama had growth of over 5%. Yup, it's true. Under Obama, there were quarters when growth was near or over 5%.

That Trump has had a quarter of growth of 3% is meaningless. Talk to me when he has sustained growth of 3% on a year over year basis. It ain't gonna happen, baby. The population of native born Americans is too low for 3% growth, and don't look for immigration to grow the population base either.

...The current bull market is really getting old. When the inevitable correction comes, it will not be pretty. There are other unknowns, too. At the same time that the GOP works to eliminate affordable healthcare, the flu season (already a bad one in the Southern Hemisphere) shows signs of blowing up in North America. A flu pandemic, should one occur, could fell more Americans than a war, and we could be less prepared to respond thanks to a weakened healthcare system. Trump's careless handling of the Jerusalem-capitol situation is ripe for building anger and hate in the Middle East, which could result in an uptick in terrorist activity. And who knows what cliff he will step off of when North Korea launches another missile? Right now the GOP is living in the moment, cutting taxes and increasing the deficit, poisoning the well of civic discourse, and kicking climate change down the road. The reckoning will be disruptive, and will further reinforce the conclusion reached by other nations that the USA is not only an unreliable player, but one of lesser significance.

"Did Russia take over Crimea? " Yes. What should the US have done in response? Crimea was a part of the Ukraine since 1954, but until the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, that really didn't matter. So once again, what should President Obama have done? I don't think angry, yet ungrammatical, tweets would have helped much.

"Did ISIS JV expand and kill thousands under Obama?" Nice try--ISIS started under the Bush Administration.

"Did we agree to the Iran nuclear deal without Americans seeing sealed documents?" This point comes to you courtesy of Fox News and The Daily Beast. Yes, some documents were kept secret and provided only to Congress. Both the US State Department and the EU made the framework of the understanding public,

"Did Syria fall into chaos under Obama?" Maybe, maybe not. One could argue that the fall had been coming for years. Here we go again: What should the Obama administration have done? Fancy another ground war in the Mideast?

"Was the last quarter 3.3% growth (deemed impossible by Obama economists) ?" Continuing a trend that started under the Obama administration. BTW, the first quarter in 2017 was just a hair over 1%.

"Is the current administration fighting for school vouchers?" They're fighting about a lot of things, but if so, that's a very bad thing. We should concentrate on fixing public schools instead of funneling public money to unaccountable private operators.

"Is the corporate tax rate going to take a huge dip with the new tax reform?" Another bad thing. Let me know what you think when the whole country turns into Kansas (I know--it will all be Obama's fault).

"Did North Korea launch a missile capable of reaching most of the United States?" Oh, sorry, that was my add-on. That didn't happen under Trump, did it? His juvenile name calling and taunts have scared North Korea into a cowering submission, haven't they?

"Big difference between talking points and facts!" Yep. Check it out sometime.

“Crimea was a part of the Ukraine since 1954, but until the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, that really didn't matter. So once again, what should President Obama have done?” So now you don’t see a big deal with Putin’s taking over Crimea? I believe America guaranteed Ukraine’s keeping its territory. On the other hand, can Germany get West Prussia back? “what should President Obama have done?” I don’t know, maybe not trust Putin before? Or not try to “reset” with him? Or have better intelligence prior to that? Lots of possibilities…

“Nice try--ISIS started under the Bush Administration.” Before Obama they were JV if they even really existed. They flourished under Obama’s watch…

“This point comes to you courtesy of Fox News and The Daily Beast” It’s actually nice to see when the right and the left agree on something… But the main problem is of course the deal itself…

“"Did Syria fall into chaos under Obama?" Maybe, maybe not. One could argue that the fall had been coming for years” There was nothing in Syria until it started in 2011 so no, one cannot argue otherwise. “What should the Obama administration have done?” Not to draw fake red lines to begin with… Establish air control before Putin came in…

“"Did North Korea launch a missile capable of reaching most of the United States?" How did they get to this point?

"Not trusting Putin" or "having better intelligence beforehand" would not have stopped Putin from annexing Crimea. The only US action that could have stopped him would have been a credible threat of force in retaliation, and that was not going to happen under any President.

"But the main problem is of course the [Iran] deal itself…" Without which Iran, as a sovereign nation, would have been free to develop all the nuclear weapons it could afford. The agreement stops that. No, Iran is not lying prostrate under US might, but it isn't developing bombs. What better deal was a realistic possibility?

"How did [North Korea] get to this point?" It took years and years of work. The bigger question is, why are they now showing off the fruits of those labors? If they were afraid of The Might of Trump, would they be testing missiles and bombs as they have been?

“"Not trusting Putin" or "having better intelligence beforehand" would not have stopped Putin from annexing Crimea. The only US action that could have stopped him would have been a credible threat of force in retaliation, and that was not going to happen under any President.” In international relations quite often whoever blinks first loses, and not only once. Letting Syrian Red Line slip and yielding to Iran’s demands (along with many other actions and “leading from behind” approach) gave Putin an Idea that he can do whatever he wanted (and of course, he was right). As for better intelligence, if Putin’s plan were known beforehand, Europe could have sent some observers to Crimea and maybe prevent Putin’s actions. On the other hand, if nothing short of military retaliation could stop Putin, what can be done about his intervention into American elections?

“Without which Iran, as a sovereign nation, would have been free to develop all the nuclear weapons it could afford. The agreement stops that. No, Iran is not lying prostrate under US might, but it isn't developing bombs.” Agreement, maybe, stopped it… for now…. but Iran is developing its abilities to deliver its nukes when they are developed and it is also developing its abilities to develop them as well.

“What better deal was a realistic possibility?” Total abandonment of all nuclear activities and ballistic missiles. Compared to sanctions against North Korea now, Iran’s sanctions were a joke so there was a lot of room left… Of course, you can say that it doesn’t help with North Korea but Iranians had not been under murderous regime for over 50 years so they would have rebelled. On the other hand, there were plenty of Iranian provocations to use force against them…. And change the regime. The same North Korea example shows that all negotiations and agreements work only in their favor so why would Iran be different?

“"How did [North Korea] get to this point?" It took years and years of work.” Exactly – see my analysis above. “The bigger question is, why are they now showing off the fruits of those labors?” Because they are afraid of Trump so they want to show that they are almost there so the world falls into their trap again and, out of fear, tries to convince Trump to leave NK alone…

I don't know about Tim above but I am pleasantly surprised at a few things during Trump's time. My 401k is way up since he was sworn in. I was a little worried because that famous professor of economics Paul Krugman said the markets would never recover. My cousin's same-sex marriage has not been annulled as many feared. Not that my cousin can't take advantage of this but Roe v. Wade hasn't been overturned either, something I was assured would happen. Illegal border crossings are reportedly down despite no new wall. Trump's bluster apparently works like putting an alarm company sign in your front yard even though you don't have an alarm system.

Yeah, I know, I am supposed to hate Trump and the GOP with a fiery passion. They haven't given us a bigger, brighter version of the ACA but they certainly haven't taken away things I hold near and dear.

Glad to hear everything is still ginger peachy for you in Trump's America. As long as everything you, personally, hold near and dear remains intact, I guess there's nothing to worry about. Your 401K is up, so everything is roses!

Why worry about things like the worsening climate of race relations in America? Who cares that Congress is bent on passing a tax bill that will bankrupt the country. So what if there is a culture of lawlessness in the White House that makes other such regimes look like models of good governance? Forget it! Everything is still fine for you, so there's nothing to be upset about!

Come on, liberals--turn those frowns upside down! Things are still just fine for some of us!

Race relations were atrocious under the previous administration. The state of the climate will always, without exception, be described as getting worse. Well maybe Trump won't agree the earth is boiling but everyone else is part of the consensus.

"Race relations were atrocious under the previous administration" When were they ever not atrocious? Are they getting any better?

"The state of the climate will always, without exception, be described as getting worse. Well maybe Trump won't agree the earth is boiling but everyone else is part of the consensus." It's more than just some guy with funny hair ranting about Chinese conspiracies. This is the President of the United States who is turning those rants into policy.

Things never stay the same. If they don't improve, they're just going to get worse.

“That's an opinion, based on your biases.” Even the title of the piece implies that it is not Obama’s fault. But really, it is irrelevant since the poll results are the facts that I wanted to bring up, not the WaPo’s writing.

CNBC/Moody's Analytics Rapid Update says that growth in the U.S. GDP for the 4th quarter is estimated to be 2.4%. Where did you get your numbers?
From Bloomberg: "The only reason the U.S. economy is operating at its full potential is that its potential is lower than we once thought it would be by now."
That's what you get for turning it over to a business failure.

Boy, that's a puzzle. Who is the giant in the Asian arena ? And who dominates the European energy mart...? Perhaps there could be a union between the European countries that could act in a non-aligned manner...

As a Japanese-English translator, I've been traveling to Japan on and off since the 1970s. During most of that time, no one asked me about U.S. politics. However, during a trip I made in October 2004, nearly everyone I had a substantive conversation with wanted to know who I was voting for.

When I said "Kerry," they relaxed and smiled and remarked that they couldn't understand how anyone could vote for an idiot like Bush who started wars on purpose. I was able to explain a few factors, but

This development surprised me, since previous conversations with the same people had been apolitical. They were once again apolitical during the Obama administration.

My next trip is scheduled for the summer of 2018, and I dread having to explain how the current Republican president ended up in the White House.

So people in the world had high confidence in Obama’s actions at the end of his term? Despite fiascos in Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Crimea, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, North Korea, etc? And they have now low confidence in Trump despite his not screwing up anything in the world yet? Does it remind us something? Oh, sure, it’s the Trump voters who are supposedly supporting Trump despite his multiple faults attributed to him.. So, should we talk about confirmation bias and not wanting to admit being wrong? They didn’t like Bush and were cheering for Obama and even gave him the Nobel Peace Prize. So how could they admit that they were wrong? And they were cheering against Trump so again, how can they admit that they were wrong?

Now, before we proceed any further with the analysis, let’s establish a simple fact: all those countries watch for their own interests, as they should, not American ones. So if Trump is doing something for America which is not so good for them, they are understandably upset. Trump pulled out of Paris Accord? It doesn’t have any bearing on America’s using green energy but it does on America’s giving less money to other countries – they are not happy. Trump pull America out of UNESCO: again, less money from America – they are not happy. Trump wants NATO countries to pay more: good for America, bad for them. Trump pulled out of TPA: possibly good for America but bad for them. Trump wants to build a wall – bad for Mexico so they don’t like him. Trump wants to stop letting Iran have its nuclear program –bad for Europe’s business with Iran. Trump called on problems in Sweden they created themselves – now they don’t like him. And so on and so forth…

And of course, we also need to remember: Trump’s image abroad is partially created by American media and Americans abroad… And guess what they are saying….

And finally, this: “Arthur Lupia, a political scientist at the University of Michigan, emailed: ‘As America is seen as an increasingly volatile and unreliable partner, the reduced credibility that follows creates new international opportunities for people like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin — who can promise relative stability. The net result? We now have reduced leverage in many international settings.’” America was seen as unreliable partner when it betrayed its allies in the Middle East, when it didn’t help Syrian rebels against Assad, when it let Russia grab Crimea… Sure Putin looks promising now – his guys win: He supported Assad and he did it by deeds, not by words.

Mr. Gutman:
"Now, before we proceed any further with the analysis, let’s establish a simple fact: all those countries watch for their own interests, as they should, not American ones. So if Trump is doing something for America which is not so good for them, they are understandably upset."

Mr Black:
"In the Russia the change was much more dramatic. Only 11 percent of Russian respondents trusted Obama, but 53 percent said they trusted Trump."

Your point would have been valid if you could provide an example of Trump’s actions benefiting Russia but being detrimental to the US… I think huge Russia’s jump can be easily explained by the fact that people they don’t like (Clinton and Obama’s supporters) constantly bash Trump. An enemy of my enemy is my friend…

How about:
1. America is more divided than ever: Good for Russia Bad for America, a long way from "We the people"
2. Oligarchs stand to grow tremendously with the (Reverse Robin Hood Tax bill) bad for America, good for Russia, Increase in in-equality
3. Less $ for education in the Tax bill: Make America, dumber, good for Russia, Bad for America
4. Continuous lies and deception coming out of "T"s mouth: Good for Russia, Bad for America, dumb countries don't do well in a highly competitive world, or one without a "Free Press"
5. Changing the SALT Tax law, drives the smart well to do states to be dumb and poor: Good for Russia, bad for America.
6 Hitting the "Tech companies" Americas growth engine, moves that entrepreneur drive offshore: Bad for America, good for Russia
7. Putting religion in politics, makes us a religious dominated country (Ironically like Iran!): "Religion and politics don't mix" Unless you believe in a christian sharia law? Good for Russia bad for American, (Freedom of religion should also be freedom from!)
8. Reversal of green initiatives, America loses the leading edge, starts polluting the country again, increasing health care requirements, while reducing health care expenditures, an unhealthy and polluted country, Good for Russia, Bad for America.
9. Pushing "White supremacy" over "all men are created equal" A great country divider, divide and conquer, great for Russia, Bad for America.

If this is OK, and you agree that America should be run by Oligarchs similar to Russia, as "T" is doing today, you need look no farther than his cabinet. Then us common folk are here, just to pay homage to the Oligarchs like "T" & Putin, then of course we are on the right track to extinguish the light of the great experiment. Exactly what the article is about: The dimming of the freedom Beacon, America. And, the world has noticed in a big way, even if you haven't.

Everything you listed is just your opinion, not facts (except #1 of course, but that started well before Trump)… On the other hand, I can list some facts: handing out Crimea and Syria to Russia, for example, or allowing Putin to interfere in our election.

Coal is more environmentally friendly than solar and wind? The tax bill is better for the poor than the wealthy? etc. etc. Seems your response is really a dismissal of reality and fact, Any further pursuit from this side would be an illusion of reasonable discussion. Would be nice if, next time, you don't pose the discussion if you aren't prepared for the answers.

The Trump/Putin axis is mutually beneficial to Trump (getting elected) and Putin (easing of sanctions). Whether this result is detrimental to the United States will ultimately be shown by history. Most Americans do not approve of the Trump administration's governance so far.

Everything you listed is just your opinion, not facts… Except #1 of course, but that is created by Democrats “resisting” Trump, not by Trump … but Putin does love it. No wonder Putin’s opponents beg to stop this “blame Russia for everything” fest…

about your investments, take some money out now and enjoy it! However, there aren't statues of a bull AND a bear in front of the financial institutions for nothin'. Events that affect the stock market: impeachment, indictments and vaporization by a nuclear war with N. Korea.

How about everyone with a public or private pension? Where do you think that money is invested? Not a 1% savings account I can assure you. The dirty secret is we all rely on the market doing well, directly or indirectly, to fund a portion of our retirement. Liberals would love the public to think the stock market is only for the Monopoly Man and the Koch Brothers but it just isn't true.

about 20% of the workforce is employed by some level of government so i’d say quite a few people under 45. and over a third of private workers rely on a 401k to help fund retirement. again- it makes liberals ill, but millions of people rely on the market doing well.

W Bush the 43d left office with the nation crashing toward economic depression, actively fighting in two foreign nations with no clear path to "win." Barack Obama steadied our economy, resulting in a very gradual economic improvement, and worked to extract us from both Iraq and Afghanistan, but with less success on those war fronts. We are much better off for Barack Obama's presidency.

The people who voted put Trump in the presidency. He hasn't done anything yet but show highly erratic behavior and a flare for saying mean things about everybody, even his party members, our friends and allies abroad. The pending tax play may change that - for the worse. But ... the damage outside our borders may be much harder to fix. If we become enough of an international pariah, no president after Trump will fix what he smashed, through deliberate ignorance, a thumb-in-your-eye contrarianism, and a preference for fascism. We need more friends than Duterte, the murdering fascist in Philippines, and Trump's peculiar buddy Putin, who continues to act against our interests despite Trump's love and loyalty. Trump is our greatest national threat.